Spring 2026
Creative Nonfiction: Writing about Place
Dates: January 27, 2026 - May 14, 2026Day/Time: Tuesday; Thursday 8:00 AM - 9:20 AM EDT
Level: 200-Level
Certificate: Global Humanities
Instructor: Rebecca Chase, Bard College
Where are you writing from? A city, a village, an airplane, under a tree? How does the “where” reveal the “who” of the narrator? Creative nonfiction reports back to the reader from the world around us: stories based in fact, often heavily researched, but always filtered through the lens of the subjective “I” and crafted with tools borrowed from fiction. This class will study and practice the components of literary nonfiction through the lens of “Place.” We will read short essays, examples of memoir writing, and write a series of short personal essays (possibly a series of linked short pieces). Our class time will be spent on discussions of assigned reading, writing in response to generative exercises, and responding to each other’s work. Your homework will include reading and responding to literary models and each other’s work, as well as writing and revising your own personal narratives. Reading may include but is not limited to works by: Ross Gay; Leila Aboulela; Mary Karr; Zadie Smith; Natalia Ginzburg, and others. This course is writing and reading intensive, with close reading and short writing assignments culminating in a final portfolio.
Credits: 4 US / 8 ECTS